Pasco County FlArchives Cemeteries.....Hebron Cemetery
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Scott Black http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00029.html#0007130 July 2004
Hebron Cemetery, Trilby, Pasco Co. FL
Directions: From Dade City, go north on U.S. Highway 301 about six miles.
At the intersection with U.S. Highway 98, follow that highway north about a
half mile to County Road 575. Turn west at that intersection at the blinking
light and pass through the Trilby community and continue on into the hilly
countryside, through an S-curve, and over another hill or two (a distance of
about two and a half to three miles from U.S. Highway 98 on County Road 575).
Watch carefully on the north side (right) for a rutted dirt road following a
fence line (if you come to Harris Hill Road, you have gone too far). Follow
this fairly passable road about a half mile and park. There will be a newer
“Tara-style” two-story house with a long driveway to the west (left). Climb
the fence to the east (right) and begin hiking up the hill through the pasture.
Be advised that this is an active cow pasture and is private property (owned
by Evans Properties) and your presence may not be welcomed and you are entering
at your own risk. Once you walk to the top of the hill, you should see way
ahead a small group of trees to the east in a barbed-wire fenced enclosure.
The cemetery is located within this overgrown square enclosure.
I first learned of this cemetery in 1976, when I was in middle school, when one
of our fellow 4-H Clubs here in Pasco County adopted the cemetery as its 4-H
Community Pride Bicentennial Project. At that time, it was located in the middle
of an orange grove and was more easily accessible (unfenced). The cemetery had
been inactive since about 1909 (the newest marked grave) and it had to be cleared
and cleaned by the 4-H members. After the disastrous freezes of the 1980’s, the
land became a cow pasture and the cemetery was again essentially reclaimed by
nature. Cows from time to time have gotten into the enclosure and pushed over
the tombstones by rubbing against them.
Very few people know of this cemetery, so, other than nature and cows, it has
remained relatively undisturbed. When the 4-H members were cleaning the cemetery
in 1976, there were remains of a picket fence, but it is now gone. There were
more visible signs during that time of unmarked graves as well.
Until recently, no one knew the name of this cemetery. The 4-H members referred
to it as the Parish Cemetery because of that name on one of the graves and a living
descendant who expressed an interest in their project. It had also been called Page
Cemetery due to that name being on another grave there. I have learned that T.L.
and Queen A Blitch are the “common relatives” to most of the others buried here and
that many other family members are buried in the Linden Cemetery in Sumter County.
The mystery of the cemetery’s name was solved when a recently discovered May 25, 1923
issue of the Dade City Banner weekly newspaper referenced Confederate graves in the
area and listed veteran “Thomas Blitch” as buried in Hebron Cemetery. Then it was
learned that when Pasco County was created in 1887, county school records referenced
“Hebron School No. 2” at Macon (earlier name for Trilby), listing M.W. Page, N.A. Williams,
and A.M. White as school trustees. The late Julia Howell recalls as a child walking to
a church at this location “to attend the wedding of Rosie Brock.” A good guess is that
this may have originally been a churchyard cemetery and that the church and school shared
the same building.
Cemeteries such as Hebron Cemetery have been lost over time and the same could easily happen
to this cemetery and it should be closely watched. This area west of Trilby with its nice
terrain and vistas could easily be developed as homesites and there is talk that this could
happen soon. Some type of safeguard for its preservation should be set in place, especially
if development occurs. A small churchyard cemetery type of park/common area could make a
unique focal point of such a development.
Many of the fallen tombstones had become buried under a thin layer of dirt under the overgrowth.
There are possibly more tombstones that could be found with a thorough cleaning of the area.
My thanks to our young friend, Ryan “HiHee” Boyett, for his help in locating, lifting, and
reading the tombstones here.
Surveyed: April 2004
BLACKBURN, Beatrice, b. Dec 28 1894 d. Dec 20 1899, d/o J.M. and S.V. Blackburn
BLITCH, Beulah Ethel, b. Jun 6 1895 d. Jul 25 1896
BLITCH, Charlie F., b. Sep 27 1867 d. Oct 12 1895
BLITCH, Queen A., b. Jul 2 1851 d. Sep 29 1909, w/o T.L Blitch
BLITCH, T.L., b. Jan 27 1842 d. Apr 20 1896
MORGAN, Elizabeth S., b. Nov 3 1844 d. Oct 31 1898
MORGAN, Thomas L., b. Apr 11 1870 d. Apr 18 1893
PAGE, Mary Amy, b. Jul 19 1889 d. Jul 9 1890
PARISH, Elizabeth, b. Nov 19 1880 d. Sep 4 1900, w/o E.G. Parish
WILLIAMS, Nathan Narcissa, b. Mar 1 1881 d. Apr 22 1883, d/o Nathan A. and Jennie L. Williams
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